Leading Yourself First: A Conversation with Dr. Victoria Farris
Before you can lead a team, navigate a setback, or advocate for yourself — you have to lead yourself. And that starts with how you think.
Most of us spend a lot of time working on what we do. How we communicate. How we show up. How we handle feedback. But underneath all of that — quietly shaping every response, every decision, every interaction — is the story we are telling ourselves about what is happening.
That story is where leadership actually begins.
In this AdaMarie Fireside Chat, Nancy Fallon sits down with Dr. Victoria Farris, transformational leadership coach and one of AdaMarie's 2026 Experts, for one of the most honest and practically useful conversations we have had in this community. The topic is self-leadership, specifically, how the way we think has to change if we want to grow.
And what emerges is not a list of affirmations or a motivational framework. It is a real, grounded, sometimes funny conversation about the human experience of trying to show up well when your brain is doing its very best to hold you back.
A few gems from this conversation we have not stopped thinking about:
"Your inner critic only gets a seat at the table if you give it one."
"Confidence is trusting yourself to navigate it — not always knowing what to say."
"Let your second thought be one you pick."
This conversation is for anyone who has ever walked into a room feeling smaller than they wanted to. Anyone who has talked themselves out of speaking up, taken a setback harder than they expected, or wondered why doing all the right things still sometimes feels like not enough.
It is also for anyone who is tired of being told to just be more confident and wants to understand what that means and how it works.
The full replay is now available inside the AdaMarie Professional Network. And if you have not yet heard Victoria speak — she will also be joining us at the 2nd Annual AdaMarie Career Navigation Summit, September 24–25, 2026. More details coming soon.
About Victoria Farris
Victoria Farris’ work is a reminder that how you show up matters just as much as what you know. Through her approach to leadership, she brings attention to the skills that often go unnamed but shape every career: how you communicate, how you navigate tension, and how you stay grounded in who you are as you grow.
